Water demand will outstrip supply by 2019 in the Western Cape‚ MEC warns

Western Cape Environmental Affairs MEC Anton Bredell says that the demand for water will outstrip supply in the province by 2019.

He painted a bleak picture of the province's immediate water security at the Cape Town Press Club on Thursday.

Bredell told a tightly-packed crowd‚ which included protesters from the Phillipi Horticulture Area which provides a substantial quantity of vegetables for the city of Cape Town‚ that the province was in an extended dry spell the likes of which had not been seen since 1983.

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Five districts in the province have been declared disaster areas and dams in the City of Cape Town municipality had dropped below 35%.

The Eden and Overberg districts had only enough water to last the next six months.

Bredell said the population of the province was growing‚ increasing the demand for water. He believed that the drought was only going to get worse and said that consumers could soon see a 30% increase in food prices.

• Cosatu not cool with the pool in Cape Town - wants water sent back to damsCosatu wants authorities to place Cape Town on a drip system and for swimming pool water to be returned to dams.  

Some of the options to soften the effects of the drought included reusing water‚ desalination‚ getting water from the Berg River Scheme and the Table Mountain aquifer.

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille said on Thursday that the city would name and shame water guzzlers who refused to abide by water restrictions.

• De Lille gets on the phone to businesses in bid to save waterCity of Cape Town mayor Patricia De Lille has swapped her job for that of a call centre agent in a bid to save water. 

“The identities of all customers who pay admission-of-guilt fines or who appear in court regarding contravention of level 3b water restrictions will be made public by the City of Cape Town‚” said De Lille.

“The city will also publish the lists of fines issued in various areas where contraventions take place‚ including street names but without street numbers‚” she said.

“Similarly‚ street names of the top 100 highest consumers for each category of domestic‚ commercial‚ and government user who are under investigation for contravening the water restrictions will be published‚ along with the water meter reading.”

- TMG Digital/The Times